STORIES FROM THE FIELD

OVERCOMING CULTURAL AND LANGUAGE BARRIERS by Elvia Anderson, CFH Information Specialist, NCFHIn many areas of the United States where farmworker families live and work there are cultural and language differences between health care providers and farmworkers. These differences, as well as a lack of understanding of the U.S. health care system, can be a barrier in successfully accessing healthcare services. However, when the life of a loved one is in jeopardy, farmworker families overcome all these barriers. The following account is a good example.In the Hispanic population, most men are not comfortable discussing health issues related to the female reproductive system. Manuel, a young man from Florida, had to overcome this cultural barrier because his sister, April, a 25 year old farmworker, needed surgery. When I asked Manuel what type of surgery his sister needed, he could not comfortably tell me, but timidly said, “She has female problems”. April’s medical records indicated that she was being treated for uterine fibroids.Because of their limited understanding of the English language and lack of knowledge of the health care system, Manuel and April had agreed to make a deposit of $4000 to the hospital, prior to the surgery, which was something they could not easily afford. The hospital representative was very intimidating and told them that if they did not pay upfront, April would not have the surgery. When they could not gather the money, Manuel started making phone calls to help his sister and then contacted Call for Healthfor assistance.Call for Health contacted their hospital to see if they had a charity-assistance program. The representative was initially difficult to collaborate with; however, after some negotiation, they accepted a small contribution from the CFH Foundation and agreed to let April have the surgery. The surgeon working on April’s case was kind and gave April a low fee for his services, which were paid for in part by contributions from CFH and the Harvest of Hope Foundation. The doctor performed a hysterectomy, successfully treating April’s medical condition.Two days after the surgery April, not fully recovered, called CFH to ask about the remaining balance due to the hospital and inquired about when she needed to start making payments. I called the hospital and asked if April qualified for any assistance and this time, they did send April’s case to a social worker. Weeks later, I called the hospital billing department and was told that April had been approved for charity assistance and did not owe any money. When I called April and gave her the great news, she was ecstatic. She could not believe it!April is very young and will not be able to have children of her own; something she wanted very much. “I always dreamed of getting married and having children”, April said the last time we spoke on the phone. With a positive attitude, she added “But right now, I am grateful because Call for Health helped me”. CFH treated her with respect and dignity and showed her compassion when she needed it. It was my pleasure to have met her; she is a kind person that faces adversity with courage. She also has to thank her brother for overcoming the cultural and language challenges he faced.Note from writer:I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the health providers and their staff for their continued dedication to providing quality healthcare services to farmworker families and for respecting and understanding the cultural traditions and beliefs of the farmworker community. With your assistance, Call for Health was able to contribute $9,879.70 in 42 CFH cases. Thanks to the kind collaboration of health providers across the country, we were able to leverage $21,505.93 of in-kind services. In addition, CFH was able to negotiate discounts for existing medical bills and/or lower payment plans for farmworkers. Please remember that the CFH Foundation is able to assist farmworker families through the generous donations from individuals, companies, and corporations. If you would like to donate, please call 1-800-377-9968.